Coral placement

[Shaady]

Are there any resources on coral placement beyond just where to place one individual coral (par & flow). I am looking more on the reef design side of the house, like how do you create a coral plan so stuff looks aesthetically pleasing? Or are we all just winging it slapping corals wherever and learning as we go?

 

[goldfish423]

I agree.
This is my most frustrating topic as a new reefer.
I would love placement tips and insider secrets.
Plus non of my darn glues work and I end up mad at the world when I’m finished.
Grinch

 

[ninjamyst]

Are there any resources on coral placement beyond just where to place one individual coral (par & flow). I am looking more on the reef design side of the house, like how do you create a coral plan so stuff looks aesthetically pleasing? Or are we all just winging it slapping corals wherever and learning as we go?

It's a creative process that's totally up to you.

 

[Shaady]

I agree.
This is my most frustrating topic as a new reefer.
I would love placement tips and insider secrets.
Plus non of my darn glues work and I end up mad at the world when I’m finished.
Grinch

I even think info like:

Ok so I know I want to make a torch or micromussa garden, how far apart should I place them from eachother.

What corals can touch eachother.

How wide/tall do certain orals get

I've read and heard that people should plan out what your corals are gonna look like years from now. Well that sounds great, no idea how to do that lol

Just like you can place furniture in a virtual room we need something like that with coral

 

[Idech]

I’m having the same questions as a newbie. So far I have found nothing better than googling to know about specific corals needs. And then adjusting once in the tank.

One thing I will stop doing is placing frags in a temporary spot on the sand, letting them get comfortable and then glueing them to their final spot. When I do it this way, I manage to break the frag, or deop the coral on the floor (which kills it), or get glue on the coral (also kills it) or when nothing bad happens, the coral is unhappy a second time and takes another 7-10 days to adapt to its new place.

I also hate glueing with a passion. I just bought some gorilla glue gel that’s supposed to work well. We’ll see…

 

[Shaady]

It's a creative process that's totally up to you.

Yeah, but I think I was wondering if it was like decorating room. Yes it's up to you, but there are general tips on how to make what you want actually work and what not to do.

 

[ninjamyst]

Yeah, but I think I was wondering if it was like decorating room. Yes it's up to you, but there are general tips on how to make what you want actually work and what not to do.

Some general tips:

- Encrusting corals WILL take over everything. Be careful where you put them. Most people isolate them to their own rock / island.
- Leave space for corals to grow. Both vertically and horizontally. Especially for acros.
- Place acros at the edge of your rock work so they table out nicely.
- it's best to group similar species together. Zoa gardens. Acan gardens. Euphyllia forest.
- Color placement is also important. You can try mixing corals with different colors...like zoa garden with all variety of red, green, yellow, etc. Or you can group similar colors together...like all your gold torches in a bunch, all the green frogspawn and hammer in a bunch.
- Remember your frags will grow into colonies to a point where your rockscape won't even be visible. So don't fret over your rockscape so much.

 

[parkwaytrash]

Anything that will grow large and create a shade below needs to be thought about
A couple of tiny toadstools now produce way to much shade below them. Anything that's getting good light now, might not in a year

 

[DeniseAndy]

Many corals will also change shape to adapt to flow. So as the corals grow, flow changes, they adapt. This really helps, right?
It is never easy to put the corals together. Honestly, it is still trial and error after 19 years. I have a good idea, but the corals do not always play by the rules.

Some I have learned:
"Favias" do not like each other unless the same species.
Lobos will fight with many corals. I have one that wins and is quite aggressive.
Scolys tend to lose fights as do acans.
Chalices will win many fights.
Leathers do not play by rules with toxins same with gorgs.
Palys will always outgrow zoas.
Acros like the light.
Blastos will lose to most corals.
GSP will grow over everything including sand.
Plain mushrooms will grow like mad while the super crazy ones do not.
Encrusting montis will encrust and bind rocks together, so expect this.
Plating montis are fragile and break easy, they provide shaded areas.
Some corals like shaded areas (many "favia", acans, blastos, zoas).

The best thing you can do is know the needs of the corals. Then place where they can have those needs and looks good to you. Hope for the best and be prepared to move if needed.

I use the epoxy stick stuff on my larger coral frags to stick to rocks, because it can easily be cut back off. Super glue is the same. It can be removed easily if needed.

Look at fts of tanks you like, ask on the forum.

 

[Koh23]

Softies go together, lps, sps with distance, from one to another and between...

 

[Queenofreef]

Are there any resources on coral placement beyond just where to place one individual coral (par & flow). I am looking more on the reef design side of the house, like how do you create a coral plan so stuff looks aesthetically pleasing? Or are we all just winging it slapping corals wherever and learning as we go?

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